Mobile handoff through multi-network simulcasting

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus supporting handoff using simulcasting of multimedia information via a broadband access gateway are disclosed. A broadband access gateway supporting both a personal area network and a broadband network may receive multimedia information simultaneously transmitted to an associated access device by a wide area network. The broadband access gateway may detect the presence of the associated access device, and the associated access device may accept the received multimedia information. The broadband access gateway may send the received multimedia information to the associated access device, and may communicate with the wide area network regarding the presence within the personal area network of the associated access device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application makes reference to, claims priority to, and claims thebenefit of the following United States Provisional Patent Applications,the complete subject matter of each of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference, in its entirety. Attorney Date Serial No. DocketNo. Title Filed 60/591,735 15884US01 Method and System for Jul. 28,BP3837 Handoff Through Simul- 2004 casting 60/591,847 15885US01 Methodand System for Jul. 28, BP3838 Handling Calls Through 2004 Simulcasting60/591,844 15886US01 Method and System for Jul. 28, BP3839 HandlingMultimedia 2004 Information Through Simulcasting 60/591,841 15887US01Method and System for Jul. 28, BP3840 Simulcasting or Multi- 2004casting Multimedia Infor- mation in a Broadband Wired and/or WirelessLAN or Personal Area Network (PAN) Via a Broadband Access Gateway60/591,845 15888US01 Method and System for Jul. 28, BP3841 ConsumingSimulcasted and 2004 Multicasted Content in a PAN/WAN/WLAN Serviced by aBroadband Access Gateway 60/591,843 15889US01 Method and System for Jul.28, BP3842 Handoff of a Multimedia 2004 Stream by Sniffing 60/591,84215890US01 Method and System for Jul. 28, BP3843 Sniffing to Provide 2004Association with a New Network

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

[MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE]

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One major common problem faced by cellular and landline serviceproviders is market competition. In today's climate of competitivemarkets, cellular service providers have found that one way for them togrow market share and defend their businesses is to be proactive andform alliances, and to partner with landline service providers. Inaddition, cellular service providers seek to differentiate their serviceofferings, and to capture the largest portion of market revenue bymeeting an ever increasing demand for access to a wide range of mediaforms such as MP3 encoded audio, still and video imaging, data, instantmessaging, and email. In a similar manner, the landline serviceproviders have found that to grow market share and ward off competition,they too must be proactive and form alliances, and to partner withcellular service providers. Support for broad economical access to theseconverging forms of communication is needed to enable unfettered marketgrowth, and to support the development and use of new handheld devicesneeded to provide increasing levels of mobile multimedia communicationfunctionality.

Although the formation of alliances and partnerships between cellularservice providers and landline service providers may help to ward offcompetition, such alliances and partnerships are faced with otherproblems. For example, the erection of cellular infrastructure such ascellular towers may be an expensive venture since this may requireacquisition of real estate, whether in the form of outright purchases orthrough leasing. Cellular infrastructure also requires the establishmentof one or more expensive backbone links to handle core network traffic.Another cellular-related problem is that the cellular signals do notpenetrate and propagate in buildings such as homes and offices verywell. This is especially true with the frequencies that are typicallyutilized in the United States, which may vary between 800 MHz and 1900MHz or 1.9 GHz.

Handoff from a cellular network to a home network such as a personalarea network (PAN) and/or wireless local area network (WLAN) requirescreation of an association with the PAN/WLAN and dissociating from thecellular network. This requires sending information between the mobileaccess device and the cellular network, between the cellular network andthe PAN/WLAN, and between the PAN/WLAN the mobile access device.Although information sent between the cellular network, PAN/WLAN and asingle mobile access device may be insufficient to affect systemperformance, in the aggregate, system performance may be negativelyimpacted.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and method supporting handoff of at least one access devicebetween a wide area network and one of: a personal area network and awireless local area network using simulcasting of multimediainformation, substantially as shown in and/or described in connectionwith at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in theclaims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of an exemplarycommunications system in which a representative embodiment of thepresent invention may be practiced.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communicationsystem 100 that may be utilized for handoff through simulcasting ofmultimedia information, in accordance with a representative embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a message exchange diagram illustrating exemplary messagingduring migration of an access device such as, for example, the accessdevice of FIG. 2 between a wide area network such as, for example, theGSM/EDGE/GPRS network, and the personal area/wireless local area networkof a broadband access gateway such as, for example, the wirelessinterface of the gateway 218 of FIG. 2, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method supporting handoff throughsimulcasting of multimedia information, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to communicationover a hybrid wired and wireless networks. More specifically, certainembodiments of the present invention relate to a method and system forhandoff through simulcasting of wireless network traffic for an activesubscriber from a wireless service provider servicing the activesubscriber to a broadband wired and/or a wireless local area network(WLAN), and/or personal area network (PAN) using a broadband accessgateway.

An aspect of the present invention provides also seamless merging ofwide area networks (WANs), from any kind of wired and/or wireless widearea networks, to pockets of wired and/or wireless local area networks(WLANs) and personal area network (PANs), which may be located in homesor other environment such as an office or business. The merging of thesevarious types of networks enables transparent communication of all typesof media between access devices, which may be wired or wirelesslycoupled to one or more of these networks. Seamless communication may beprovided to access devices as they transition from one type of networkto another type of network.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of an exemplarycommunications system in which a representative embodiment of thepresent invention may be practiced. Referring to FIG. 1, there is showna first location 102, a second location 104, a broadband access provider(BAP) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, a transportnetwork 110, wireless service provider networks including a CDMA network112 and a GSM network 114, and access devices 122, 124, 126, and 128.The first location 102 comprises a gateway 118 having a modem 116, awireless interface(s) block 120, and the access devices 122, 124. Theaccess devices 122, 124, 126, 128 may comprise, for example, a mobilemultimedia handset having a high level of functionality such as, forexample, that of one or more of a digital video or still camera, aportable audio (MP3) player, a personal digital assistant, and a voicehandset. The access devices 122, 124, 126, 128 may be capable ofoperating using, for example, a personal area network and/or wirelesslocal area network compliant with, for example, Bluetooth, IEEE802.11a/b/g/n, and/or IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband standards. Thesecond location 104 comprises a router 130 having a modem 132, and aplurality of wireless access devices. The plurality of wireless accessdevices at the second location 104 may comprise a personal computer (PC)138, a laptop 136 and a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA) 134. Aperipheral such as a digital camera 142 may be coupled to the personalcomputer 138. Other peripherals such as printers, digital scanners,speakers, and the like, which are not shown, may also be coupled to thepersonal computer 138 and/or laptop 136. The wireless interface block120 may comprise a plurality of interfaces such as a Bluetoothinterface, an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface, and anycombination of an IEEE 802.11a, b, g and/or n interface.

FIG. 1 also comprises an “other broadband access provider” block 144, an“other cellular/PCS service provider” block 146, a central control andmanagement block 148, and content provider 150. The “other broadbandaccess provider block 144” may be, for example, a cable, DSL, or othertype of broadband access provider. The central control and managementblock 148 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may beadapted to handle content delivery and security functions such asauthentication, validation, key or certificate management, andauthorization. The central control and management block 148 may also beadapted to handle provisioning, service management, and accounting. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the central controland management block 148 may establish communications links with, forexample, the gateway 118, the broadband access provider 106, the otherbroadband access provider 144, the other cellular/PCS service provider146, the CDMA network 112, and the GSM network 114 using actual orvirtual connections.

The broadband access provider 106 may be, for example, a cable operator,telephone company, or satellite operator providing Internet access alongwith other communication services. In instances where BAP 106 is atelephone company, broadband service to locations 102, 104 may beprovided via DSL or other broadband access technology. Accordingly, themodems 116, 132 may be DSL modems. In instances where BAP 106 is a cableoperator, broadband service to locations 102, 104 may be provided viacable. Accordingly, the modems 116, 132 may be DOCSIS compliant or othertype of cable modem. Given the rapid decrease in the cost of leasedtelephone lines over the past decade or more, the connection to thelocation 102, 104 may also be T1 or T3 connections. For example, aswitch located at a central office (CO) (not shown) may be utilized tocouple a T1 or T3 connection between the second location 104 and thePSTN 108.

The gateway 118 may comprise an integrated DSL modem, cable modem orother high-speed modem that may be required for handling a connectionsuch as a T1 or T3 connection. Alternatively, the gateway 118 may becoupled to an external DSL modem, cable modem or other high-speed modemthat may be capable of handling connections such as a T1 or a T3connection. The gateway 118 may be adapted so that it has access toprotocol stack information that may be related to the GSM and/or CDMAnetworks 114, 112, respectively. The gateway 118 may also be adapted toprovide protocol support for communication with “other cellular/PCSservice provider” block 146.

Each of the CDMA and GSM networks 112, 114 may comprise a plurality ofcell sites (a/k/a cellular towers) that are located in geographicalcells within each of the networks. Within the GSM network 114, each ofthe cell sites such as, for example, cell site 114 a may comprise a basetransceiver station (BTS), and one or more base transceiver stations(BTSs) may be coupled to wireless carrier central office 114 b. Thewireless carrier central office 114 b may comprise a base stationcontroller/radio network controller (BSC/RNC) such as BSC/RNC 114 d. Oneor more base station controllers/radio network controllers (BSCs/RNCs)may be coupled to the core network 114 e, that comprises a network edgeswitch called a mobile switching center (MSC), such as MSC 114 g, and aserving GPRS support node (SGSN)/packet data serving node (PDSN) 114 f,of the GSM network 114. The mobile switching center may be coupled to,for example, the PSTN 108 via the transport network 110. As an accessdevice moves out of range of a first cell site to within range of asecond cell site, the decrease signal power received from the first cellsite and the increase in signal power received from the second cell sitecauses initiation of handoff of a call from the first cell site to thesecond cell site. In cases where there is no second cell site to handoffto, the call may be maintained by the first cell site power until it isattenuated to a threshold where it is no longer feasible to maintain thecall. At the point where the power reaches or falls below thisthreshold, the call may drop and any related call resources may berelinquished. In a home and/or office environment, it may be desirableto have a second network to which the call may be handed off to.

As an illustration, a user may be on their way home and as the userapproaches their home, the signal may fall below a minimum signal powerthreshold that is required to maintain a call. However, instead ofdropping the call, the call may be handed off to, for example, a PAN ora wireless local area network (WLAN) that may be located within theuser's home or an unlicensed wireless access system that may be locatedin the user's home. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, as accessdevice 126 migrates from the vicinity of the serving cell site 114 a inGSM network 114 towards the wireless interface 120 in the first location102, the call may be handed off from the cell site 114 a of the GSMnetwork 114 to the wireless interface 120 coupled to the gateway (GW)118 at the first location 102. Accordingly, instead of the call beingdropped, the call has been seamlessly handed off and is now beinghandled by the gateway 118 via the wireless interface 120. The resultingwireless data may then be communicated to the GSM network 114 via thebroadband connection to the BAP 106 which is connected to the broadbandwireless local area network controller (BWC) 114 c.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, voice and datatraffic related to an existing active wireless call or connection for asubscriber may be routed from a serving wireless service provider suchas, for example, the GSM network 114 to a broadband wired and/or awireless LAN, and/or PAN using a broadband access gateway such as, forexample, the gateway 118, so as to provide handoff. The broadband wiredand/or a wireless LAN (WLAN), and/or PAN using a broadband accessgateway may be located in a home, for example. Simulcasting is thesimultaneous broadcasting of the same information over at least twodifferent communication paths or channels. Accordingly, in arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, voice and datarelated traffic may be simulcasted to an access device and to the homebroadband access gateway upon initiation of a call, in addition toreceipt of a call from a calling party. In the former case where acalling party places a call to a called party, related voice and datafor the called party and/or the calling party may be communicated to thebroadband access gateway 118. When the calling party is at home, thecalling party may use their access device or some other access devicethat is now serviced by the broadband access gateway 118 for furthercommunication.

With reference to FIG. 1, the mobile access device 126 that may be, forexample, a mobile multimedia handset, may initiate a call destined forthe mobile access device 128 that may also be, for example, a mobilemultimedia handset. Once the call is setup and established, the mobileaccess device 126 may be serviced by a cell site such as, for example,the cell site 114 a located in the GSM network 114, while the mobileaccess device 128 may be serviced by a cell site such as, for example,the cell site 112 a located in the CDMA network 112. While communicationis active between the mobile access devices 126 and 128, the wirelesscarrier central office 114 b may be configured to additionally routecall-related traffic and data to the broadband access gateway (GW) 118at the first location 102. In this regard, whenever the mobile accessdevice 126 migrates from the service area of the GSM network 114 into acoverage area of the wireless interface 120 that is coupled to thebroadband access gateway 118, the mobile access device 126 may be handedoff from the serving cell site 114 a and be serviced by the broadbandaccess gateway 118.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, a mobile accessdevice such as, for example, the mobile access device 126 may sendidentification information to the broadband access gateway 118 uponentry into, or periodically while within the coverage area of thewireless interface 120. Such identification information may comprise,for example, an international mobile station identifier (IMSI), a mobileidentification number (MIN), a media access control (MAC) address, anInternet protocol (IP) address, a digital certificate, a manufactureridentifier, a model identifier, a type identifier, and a serviceprovider identifier, to name just a few such information items. Inanother representative embodiment of the present invention, a mobilesubscriber or user may use their current mobile access device or anotheraccess device for communication while service is being offered by thebroadband access gateway 118. In other words, the user is not limited tousing the device that was in use during the handoff. Since thesimulcasted call information is already available at the broadbandaccess gateway 118, then handoff from the cell site 114 a of the GSMnetwork 114 to the broadband access gateway 118 may be more efficientlyattained.

The broadband access gateway 118 may be adapted to inform the wirelesscarrier central office 114 b that the mobile telephone 126 is currentlywithin a coverage area of, and being serviced by, the broadband accessgateway 118. As a result, the wireless carrier central office 114 b maycease simulcasting information over the wireless path provided by thewireless service provider and the broadband access path to the firstlocation 102. However, when the mobile access device migrates fromwithin range of the broadband access gateway 118, and is being servicedby the wireless service provider, then the wireless carrier centraloffice 114 b may reinitiate simulcasting over the wireless path of thewireless service provider and the broadband access path.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, there may beperiods when service by the wireless path overlaps service offered bythe broadband access path. In this regard, the service with the wirelessservice provider is not relinquished before handoff and service from thebroadband access path is established. In a somewhat similar manner, inthe opposite direction, service with the broadband access path is notrelinquished before handoff and service from the wireless serviceprovider is established. Although handoff from the wireless serviceprovider to the broadband access network may occur seamlessly, handofffrom the broadband access network access network may not, in all cases,occur seamlessly. For example, if there is a choice between two or morenetworks or network services, a user may prefer the flexibility ofselecting which network best suit their needs. The handoff selection maybe based on other criteria such as QoS, pricing and available features.

In another representative embodiment of the present invention, dataresolution for multimedia information may be changed as roaming occursfrom a first network to a second network. Multimedia information maycomprise, for example, streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digitaldata, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video,and digitized music. The first network may be a wireless serviceprovider network and the second network may be a broadband accessnetwork. Roaming may also occur between a mobile virtual networkoperator (MVNO) and the wireless service provider network and thebroadband access network. Data resolution utilized for transmittingmultimedia information between the various networks may be dynamicallychanged to facilitate more optimal communication between the mobileaccess devices and the various networks. Accordingly, as a mobile accessdevice migrates from a first communication network to a secondcommunication network, where the first communication network has lessavailable bandwidth than the second communication network, thenmultimedia information, which could not have been previously deliveredto the mobile access device, may now be delivered to the mobile accessdevice. Alternatively, while the second communication network isservicing the mobile access device, multimedia information may now bedelivered at a much higher resolution to the mobile access device.

A subscriber or user may also initiate a request to be handed off to aparticular communication network. The request may provide media contentdetail options as well as network options such as bandwidth deliveryoptions and pricing options. Billing options may also be provided. Forexample, when a user roams into the service area of a mobile virtualnetwork operator (MVNO) which simulcasts multimedia information,available media content and corresponding billing information, as wellas pricing, and delivery options may be provided to the user.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communicationsystem 200 that may be utilized for handoff through simulcasting ofmultimedia information, in accordance with a representative embodimentof the present invention. The exemplary communication system 200 of FIG.2 provides handoff through simulcasting for wireless network traffic,for an active subscriber, from a wireless service provider servicing theactive subscriber to a broadband wired and/or a wireless LAN, and/or PANusing a broadband access gateway. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown afirst location 202, a broadband access provider (BAP) 206, a transportnetwork block 232, an Internet 204, a WANs, PSTN, etc networks block208, a content providers block 210, wireless service provider networks212, 214, and a plurality of mobile access devices 222, 224, 226, 228The wireless interface 220, the gateway 218 with modem 216, BAP 206, theGSM network 214, the transport network 232, and the CDMA network 236 ofFIG. 2 may correspond, for example, to the wireless interface 120, thegateway 118 with modem 116, the BAP 106, the GSM network 114, thetransport network 110, and the CDMA network 112, respectively, ofFIG. 1. The illustration of FIG. 2 also comprises a central control andmanagement block 248 that may correspond, for example, to the centralcontrol and management block 148 of FIG. 1.

The first location 202 comprises a broadband access gateway 218 with amodem 216, and a wireless interface 220. The first location may be ahome, and the broadband access gateway 218 with the modem 216 and thewireless interface 220 may support a personal area network (PAN) and/orwireless local area network (WLAN), and may be referred to as a homenetwork 202 a. The wireless interface 220 may comprise a plurality ofinterfaces such as a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband interface, and any combination of IEEE 802.11a, b, gand/or n interfaces. In a representative embodiment of the presentinvention, the gateway 218 may comprise, for example, a set top box thatmay be coupled in a wireless or wired fashion to access devices such as,for example, a laptop computer or television, such as the laptop 217 andthe television 215 of FIG. 2. Service may be provided to the homenetwork 202 a supported by the gateway 218 via the cable modem 216,which is coupled to the broadband access provider 206.

The broadband access provider 206 may be, for example, a cable company,telephone company (Telco), or an Internet service provider (ISP). Thebroadband access provider 206 may utilize any of the standardizedformats such as DOCSIS, digital subscriber line (DSL), or localmultipoint distribution system (LMDS). LMDS utilizes broadband wirelesstechnology to deliver voice, video, data, and/or Internet servicesutilizing licensed or unlicensed spectrum in the frequency range of25-GHz and higher. LMDS utilizes point-to-point or point-to-multipointcommunication to provide broadband services, some of which rely on lineof sight (LOS). LMDS is a fixed wireless solution, and as such, nomobility support is required.

The broadband access provider 206 may be also be a WiMAX or Institute ofElectronic and Electrical Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 802.16-compliantservice provider. The IEEE 802.16 standard offers a wirelessmetropolitan area network (MAN) air interface which provides networkaccess to buildings via external antennas that receive signals from aremotely located central base station. The signal received at thebuilding may be communicated to a wired network infrastructure such asan IEEE 802.3 compliant communication network or a wireless networkinfrastructure such as an IEEE 802.11a/b/g and/or n-compliant network.In instances where WiMAX is utilized, then antenna 202 b may be utilizedto receive and transmit signals between the broadband access provider206 and the home network 202 a.

The WANs, PSTN, etc networks block 208 may comprise networks such asprivate or public communication networks. For example, the WANs, PSTN,etc networks block 208 may comprise a public switched telephone network(PSTN) and a packet network such as a cellular digital packet data(CDPD) network.

The content providers block 210 may comprise network providers, whichsupply data and/or multimedia content. In a representative embodiment ofthe present invention, the content providers block 210 may comprise oneor more mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). A MVNO is a mobileservice provider that provides mobile services to its subscribers byutilizing the network infrastructure of another company. In this regard,the MVNO enters into an agreement with a network operator to purchasenetwork time such as minutes, which it resells to it owncustomers/subscribers. The MNVO utilizes the purchased time to provide,for example, multimedia content delivery to its subscribers.

The wireless service provider network 212 may, for example, utilizeCDMA, 3G or 4G access technology and may comprise a plurality of cellsites. Cell site 212 a may provide cellular service to mobile accessdevice 228 while the mobile access device 228 is within range of thecell site 212 a. The wireless service provider network 214 may, forexample, utilize the time division multiple access (TDMA) accesstechnology of the GSM standard, and may include enhanced data rates forGSM evolution (EDGE) and/or general packet radio service (GPRS) datacapability. The wireless service provider network 214 may comprise aplurality of cell cites and a wireless carrier central office 214 b, thelatter of which comprises a mobile switching center (MSC) 214 g. Cellsite 214 a may provide cellular service to mobile access device 226while the mobile access device 226 is within range of the cell site 214a.

With reference to FIG. 2, the mobile access device 226 that maycomprise, for example, a mobile multimedia handset may initiate a calldestined for the mobile access device 228, which may be, for example,another mobile multimedia handset. Once the call is setup andestablished, the mobile access device 226 may be serviced by cell site214 a located in the GSM/EDGE/GPRS network 214, while the mobile accessdevice 228 may be serviced by cell site 212 a located in the CDMAnetwork 212. While communication is active between the mobile accessdevices 226 and 228, the wireless carrier central office 214 b may beconfigured to additionally route call related traffic and data to thebroadband access gateway (GW) 218 at the first location 202. In thisregard, whenever the mobile access device 226 migrates from the servicearea of the GSM/EDGE/GPRS network 214 into a coverage area of thewireless interface 220 that is coupled to the broadband access gateway218, the mobile access device 226 may be handed off from the servingcell site 214 a and be serviced by the broadband access gateway 218.

In another representative embodiment of the present invention, a mobilesubscriber or user may utilize their current mobile access device oranother access device for communication while service is being providedby the broadband access gateway 218. Since the simulcasted callinformation including call parameters is already available at thebroadband access gateway 218, then handoff from the wireless serviceprovider cell site 214 a to the broadband access gateway 218 may be moreefficiently attained. In this regard, there is no need to utilizeadditional system resources to transfer these call parameters to thebroadband access gateway 218 residing in the home network.

FIG. 3 is a message exchange diagram 300 illustrating exemplarymessaging during migration of an access device such as, for example, theaccess device 224 of FIG. 2 between a wide area network such as, forexample, the GSM/EDGE/GPRS network 214, and the personal areanetwork/wireless local area network of a broadband access gateway suchas, for example, the wireless interface 220 of the gateway 218 of FIG.2, in accordance with a representative embodiment of the presentinvention. In the illustration of FIG. 3, the three vertical linesrepresent a wireless wide area network 302, an access device 304, and abroadband access gateway 306 that may correspond, for example, to theGSM/EDGE/GPRS network 214, the access device 224, and the gateway 218,respectively, of FIG. 2. The horizontal lines represent messages orgroups of messages exchanged between a source and a destination, thedestination being indicated by the arrow head. The vertical dimensionrepresents time, advancing downward on the message exchange diagram 300.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, an accessdevice 304 may initiate or receive a call via the wireless wide areanetwork 302 using messaging 310, 312. The messaging 310, 312 mayestablish a wireless call on the wireless wide area network 302. At thetime that the call is established, the wireless wide area network 302may determine that the access device 304 has an associated broadbandaccess gateway 306, and may inform the broadband access gateway 306 ofthe simulcast call using messaging 313. The call traffic is shown inFIG. 3 as a sequence of messaging 314 between the access device 304 andthe wide area network 302. This exchange may, for example, transfermultimedia information such as digitized voice, streaming video,broadcast video, digitized video, still images, data, and text, aspreviously described. Note that during the sequence of messaging 314,the wide area network simultaneously broadcasts (i.e., simulcasts)messages via the wide area network and the broadband network bytransmitting a message to the access device 304 as wireless messaging314 a, 314 c via the wireless wide area network, and a copy to thebroadband access gateway 306 as messaging 314 b, 314 d, respectively,via the broadband network.

Subsequent to receiving the messaging 313, the broadband access gateway306 may offer the call comprising the sequence of messaging 314 to anyavailable access devices within the coverage area of the personalarea/wireless local area network supported by the broadband accessgateway 306 using messaging 315. The access device 304 may then acceptthe call by sending messaging 316. The broadband access gateway 306 mayinform the wireless wide area network 302 of the acceptance of the callthrough the broadband access gateway 306 using messaging 318, and thewireless wide area network 302 may acknowledge with messaging 320. Theaccess device 304 may then send a copy of the call traffic messaging 324to the broadband access gateway 306 as messaging 322. The messaging 322may be forwarded to the wireless wide area network 302 via a broadbandnetwork as messaging 326. The call traffic messaging from the wirelesswide area network 302 destined for the access device 304 is sent bothvia the wireless wide area network 302 and to the broadband accessgateway 306 as messaging 328. The messaging 328 may be forwarded by thebroadband access gateway 306 to the access device 304 as messaging 332.

At some later point in time, the broadband access gateway 306 may notifythe access device 304 via messaging 333 a and wireless wide area network302 via messaging 333 b, that simulcasting is no longer desired and/ornecessary. Thereafter, the access device 304 may send call traffic onlyto the broadband access gateway 306 as messaging 334, which is forwardedto the wireless wide area network 302 as messaging 336. In the reversedirection, the wireless wide area network 302 may send call traffic forthe access device 304 only to the broadband access gateway 306 asmessaging 338, which is forwarded by the broadband access gateway 306via the personal area network/wireless local area network, to the accessdevice 304 as messaging 340. The above discussion is only by way ofexample, and does not represent limitations of the present invention.Other message exchanges and arrangements are contemplated and may beemployed without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 of an exemplary method supporting handoffthrough simulcasting of multimedia information, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. The followingdiscussion makes references to the elements of FIG. 2. The method ofFIG. 4 begins with an access device such as, for example, the accessdevice 224 in an idle state (i.e., not engaged in a call) (block 410). Acall destined for or placed by the access device 224 is then received bya wireless wide area network such as, for example, the GSM/EDGE/GPRSnetwork 214 (block 412). The access device 224 may comprise, forexample, a mobile multimedia handset, a wireless personal digitalassistant, or other similar device. The wireless wide area network 214may then establish a wireless call with the access device 224 (block414). During the setup of the call, the wireless wide area network 214may determine whether the access device 224 is associated with abroadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway 218 (block416). If the access device is not associated with a broadband accessgateway, the method of FIG. 4 ends (block 430). If, however, thewireless wide area network 214 determines that the access device 224 hasan associated broadband access gateway, the wireless wide area network214 may begin sending a copy of call traffic destined for the accessdevice 224 to the associated broadband access gateway via a broadbandnetwork (block 418). The broadband network may comprise, for example, adigital subscriber line (DSL) network, a satellite network, a cablenetwork, a T1 or T3 network, a local multipoint distribution system(LMDS), an IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n network, and a WIMAX or IEEE 801.16network, to name only a few. The associated broadband access gateway maythen begin offering the call traffic to any of the access devices withinthe coverage area of the personal area network/wireless local areanetwork supported by the associated broadband access gateway (block420).

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, it may bedetermined that no access device accepts the call offered by thebroadband access gateway (block 422). The broadband access gateway maythen continue to offer the call (block 420). If, however, an accessdevice within the coverage area of the associated broadband accessgateway accepts the call (block 422), the associated broadband accessgateway establishes wireless communication with the accepting accessdevice via the personal area network/wireless local area network (block424). The access device may then begin sending a copy of all calltraffic destined for the wireless wide area network via the personalarea network/wireless local area network supported by the broadbandaccess gateway (426). The call may then proceed until terminated by theuser of the access device, with the broadband access gateway exchangingcall traffic between the wireless wide area network and the accessdevice via the personal area network/wireless local area network of thebroadband access gateway, and the broadband network (block 428). Themethod of FIG. 4 then ends (block 430).

Aspects of the present invention may be found in a method of operating abroadband access gateway supporting handoff of at least one accessdevice between a wide area network and one of a personal area networkand a wireless local area network using simulcasting of multimediainformation. Such a method may comprise associating the at least oneaccess device with the broadband access gateway, and receiving, from thewide area network via a broadband network, multimedia informationsimultaneously sent wirelessly directly from the wide area network tothe associated at least one access device. The method may also comprisesending multimedia information received via the broadband network to theassociated at least one access device via the one of a personal areanetwork and a wireless local area network. In a representativeembodiment of the present invention, the method may comprise receivingmultimedia information from the associated at least one access devicevia the one of a personal area network and a wireless local areanetwork, and transmitting the multimedia information received from theassociated at least one access device to the wide area network via thebroadband network. In a representative embodiment of the presentinvention, the at least one access device may comprise at least one of amobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), apersonal computer (PC), a computer peripheral, a digital scanner, adigital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device. The widearea network may comprise at least one of a cellular digital packet data(CDPD) network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, and a General PacketRadio Service (GPRS) network. The wide area network may also comprise ashort message service (SMS) network, a GSM enhanced data rates forglobal evolution (EDGE) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA)network, an integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN), a code divisionmultiple access (CDMA) network, and a CDMA2000 1×RTT network.

In a representative embodiment in accordance with the present invention,the personal area network may comprise at least one of a Bluetoothnetwork, an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband network, and an Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, b, g, and nnetwork. The broadband network may comprise at least one of a cablenetwork, a digital subscriber loop network, a T1 network, a T3 network,a local multipoint distribution system (LMDS), a WiMAX network, and anInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 network.The multimedia information may comprise at least one of streaming video,broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitizedstill images, digitized video, and digitized music. A method inaccordance with a representative embodiment of the present invention mayalso comprise receiving, via the one of a personal area network and awireless local area network, acceptance of the received multimediainformation by the associated at least one access device. In addition,the method may comprise informing the wide area network via thebroadband network, of acceptance of multimedia information by theassociated at least one access device via the one of a personal areanetwork and a wireless local area network.

Additional aspects of the present invention may be seen in a systemsupporting handoff of at least one access device between a wide areanetwork and one of a personal area network and a wireless local areanetwork using simulcasting of multimedia information. Such a system maycomprise a gateway communicatively coupled to a broadband network and atleast one wireless interface, the gateway capable of selectivelyexchanging multimedia information between the at least one wirelessinterface and the broadband network, and of communicating with the atleast one access device via the at least one wireless interface. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the gateway may becapable of associating the at least one access device with the broadbandaccess gateway. The gateway may also be capable of receiving, from thewide area network via a broadband network, multimedia informationsimultaneously sent wirelessly directly from the wide area network tothe associated at least one access device. The gateway may be capable ofsending multimedia information received via the broadband network to theassociated at least one access device via the at least one wirelessinterface, and of receiving multimedia information from the associatedat least one access device via the at least one wireless interface. Inaddition, the gateway may be capable of transmitting the multimediainformation received from the associated at least one access device tothe wide area network via the broadband network.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the multimediainformation may comprise at least one of streaming video, broadcastvideo, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized stillimages, digitized video, and digitized music. The wide area network maycomprise at least one of a cellular digital packet data (CDPD) network,a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a Global System for MobileCommunication (GSM) network, and a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)network. The wide area network may also comprise a short message service(SMS) network, a GSM enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE)network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, an integrateddigital enhanced network (iDEN), a code division multiple access (CDMA)network, and a CDMA2000 1×RTT network. The at least one wirelessinterface may comprise at least one of a Bluetooth network interface andan IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband network interface, and the at least onewireless interface may be compliant with at least one of an Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, b, g, and n networkinterface standard. In various representative embodiments of the presentinvention, the broadband network may comprise at least one of a cablenetwork, a digital subscriber loop network, a T1 network, a T3 network,a local multipoint distribution system (LMDS), a WiMAX network, and anInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 network.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the multimediainformation may comprise at least one of streaming video, broadcastvideo, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized stillimages, digitized video, and digitized music. The gateway may be capableof receiving, via the at least one wireless interface, acceptance of thereceived multimedia information by the associated at least one accessdevice, and of informing the wide area network via the broadbandnetwork, of acceptance of multimedia information by the associated atleast one access device via the at least one wireless interface. The atleast one access device may comprise at least one of a mobile multimediahandset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), acomputer peripheral, a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer,headphones, and a pointing device.

Yet other aspects of the present invention may be observed in abroadband access gateway apparatus supporting handoff using simulcastingof multimedia information. The apparatus may comprise at least onewireless interface supporting communication via at least one of apersonal area network and a wireless local area network, and at leastone network interface for communication via a broadband network. Theapparatus may comprise at least one processor capable of associating atleast one access device with the broadband access gateway apparatus, andthe at least one processor may be communicatively coupled to the atleast one wireless interface and the at least one network interface. Theat least one processor may be capable of receiving, via the broadbandnetwork, multimedia information simultaneously communicated wirelesslyto the associated at least one access device via a wide area network,and of transmitting the received multimedia information to theassociated at least one access device via the at least one wirelesslocal area network. The at least one processor may also be capable ofdetecting acceptance of the transmitted multimedia information, and ofcommunicating acceptance of the transmitted multimedia information tothe wide area network via the broadband network. The at least onewireless interface may comprise at least one of a Bluetooth networkinterface and an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband network interface, andmay comprise at least one of an Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11a, b, g, and n network interface. In variousrepresentative embodiments of the present invention, the broadbandnetwork may comprise at least one of a cable network, a digitalsubscriber loop network, a T1 network, a T3 network, a local multipointdistribution system (LMDS), a WiMAX network, and an Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 network.

The at least one access device in a representative embodiment of thepresent invention may comprise at least one of a mobile multimediahandset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), acomputer peripheral, a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer,headphones, and a pointing device. The multimedia information maycomprise at least one of streaming video, broadcast video, voice,digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitizedvideo, and digitized music. The wide area network in a representativeembodiment of the present invention may comprise at least one of acellular digital packet data (CDPD) network, a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN), a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network,and a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network. The wide area networkmay also comprise a short message service (SMS) network, a GSM enhanceddata rates for global evolution (EDGE) network, a time division multipleaccess (TDMA) network, an integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN), acode division multiple access (CDMA) network, and a CDMA2000 1×RTTnetwork. In addition, the at least one processor may be capable ofreceiving, via the at least one wireless interface, multimediainformation simultaneously transmitted by the associated at least oneaccess device via the wide area network.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the wirelesslocal area networks may include data networks such as, for example,Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) 802.11a/b/g/ncompliant wireless networks such as those located in homes, hot spots oran office. Such local area networks may operate in unlicensed radiofrequency spectrum such as in, for example, the 2.4 and 5 gigahertzregions. Examples of wide area networks may include cellular digitalpacket data (CDPD), voice and data networks such as public switchedtelephone networks (PSTN), Global System For Mobile Communication (GSM),GSM General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), GSM Short Message Service(SMS), GSM Enhanced Data Rates For Global Evolution (EDGE), NorthAmerican Time Division Multiplex Access (TDMA), iDEN, Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) and CDMA2000 1×RT, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) network, to name only a few.

A personal area network (PAN) may be formed by a plurality of wirelesscommunication access devices such as, for example, mobile multimediahandsets, PDAs, telephones, and computers. Other elements of such anetwork may, for example, include computer peripherals such as digitalscanners, digital cameras, printers, headphones, and pointing devices,that may be located within the immediate proximity of a person. A PANmay be an ad-hoc network of such communication devices. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, access deviceswithin the PAN may communicate with other access devices within the PANand also with other access devices that are located in other networksaccessible via the PAN. The personal area networks may include datanetworks such as, for example, a Bluetooth compliant network, andInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) 802.15.3acompliant wireless networks. Such personal area networks may operate inunlicensed radio frequency spectrum such as, for example, the 2.4 and 5gigahertz regions. Details of one example of a personal area network areprovided in the document “Bluetooth Core Specification V1.2”, Nov. 5,2003, from Bluetooth SIG, Inc., the complete subject matter of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. For example,in a Bluetooth® wireless PAN, a first Bluetooth®-enabled wireless accessdevice may communicate with a second Bluetooth®-enabled wireless accessdevice within the PAN. Additionally, either of the first and secondBluetooth®-enabled wireless access devices may communicate with theInternet or another LAN or WAN via the Bluetooth® wireless PAN.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, a gateway maybe adapted to provide seamless and transparent communication between aplurality of access devices and a plurality of networks. Thefunctionality of the gateway may be divided, for example, intoapplication content functionality, and configuration and managementfunctionality. The application content functionality may, for example,deal with the types of applications that may be supported by the gatewayas well as the various types of data that may be received, processedand/or transmitted by the gateway. In this regard, application contentfunctionality may also include the manner in which other devices and/orsystems may utilize data from the gateway.

Content and application services are important because all theinformation coming into and leaving the home from either the WAN side(i.e., the broadband connection side), or from the PAN side (i.e., theaccess device side) converges at the gateway. The PAN side may compriseBluetooth, wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n), IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband, or cellular, for example. Notwithstanding, the gatewaymay be adapted to convert, for example, wirelessly receivedGSM-formatted information into, for example, Internet protocol(IP)-formatted information and in reverse, converts IP-formattedinformation into wireless GSM-formatted information suitable forover-the-air transmission. Support for other wireless communicationprotocols such as TDMA, CDMA, and UMTS may also be provided. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the gateway maycomprise suitable circuitry, logic and/or code that may be adapted toreceive and process MPEG related data, which may be suitable for displayon a screen. The gateway in an embodiment of the present inventionfunctions as a focal point where data converges from a plurality ofwired and wireless services. Although, in a particular embodiment of thepresent invention the gateway may do very little in terms of actualcontent aggregation, there is virtual aggregation of data. The convergeddata may be integrated and or otherwise utilized to offer uniqueopportunities for launching various content and application servicesfrom a single strategic location. Since the gateway in an embodiment ofthe present invention is the focal point where data converges, one ormore protocol stacks may be employed for launching the various contentand application services.

The gateway in a representative embodiment of the present invention maybe adapted to route calls based on established rules that may beprogrammed into the gateway. For example, the gateway may be governed bya rule which states that local calls are to be routed to an incumbentlocal exchange carrier (iLEC), while long distance calls are to behandled by Long Distance Carrier Company. Accordingly, when a calloriginates at the gateway and it is determined that the call is a localcall, the gateway may be adapted to route the call to the iLEC. However,if the gateway determines that the call is a long distance call, thenthe gateway may be adapted to route the call to Long Distance CarrierCompany.

A representative embodiment of the present invention may leverageexisting broadband infrastructure that is commonly found in many homesand businesses today. Because a consumer is already paying for the useof the broadband infrastructure in their home or office, leveraging theuse of the existing broadband infrastructure for communication with widearea networks results in minimal or no communication costs. Thebroadband infrastructure may be, for example, a cable or DSLinfrastructure.

The wireless interface function provided by the gateway located within ahome, for example, may be utilized to route or communicate a great dealof traffic to a wired network such as a broadband network or a wirelessnetwork such as a GSM or CDMA network via a broadband connection. Inother words, the wireless gateway infrastructure provided by arepresentative embodiment of the present invention provides a scalablenetwork infrastructure that rides on an existing access infrastructurealready supplied by a broadband service provider to a home, office orbusiness. Additionally, the scalable infrastructure provided by thegateway also solves the problems associated with signal penetration andpropagation, thereby providing improved quality of service (QoS). From amarket perspective, a wireless service provider may now have access tothe necessary infrastructure to provide improved wireless services tousers within a home or office. Accordingly, in order to rapidly increasetheir growth, wireless service providers may now target that portion ofthe in-home landline or plain old telephone system (POTS) business,which have traditionally been handled by incumbent local exchangecarriers (ILECs) or other LECs.

The unlicensed mobile access gateway described above may possess asignificant amount of processing power. The gateways of existing systemsfall short of realizing the full potential of the merged wired andwireless communication network that is enabled by a representativeembodiment of the present invention. Numerous basic and enhancedcommunication services may be enabled or provided by the gateway.Support for access devices such as, for example, mobile multimediahandsets and PDAs may be involved in order to utilize these basic andenhanced communication services enabled by the new wave of digitaltechnologies. Current and/or proposed mobile access gateway systems,however, do not provide the range of support needed for their use by theeveryday consumer.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of operating a broadband access gateway supporting handoffof at least one access device between a wide area network and one of: apersonal area network and a wireless local area network usingsimulcasting of multimedia information, the method comprising:associating the at least one access device with the broadband accessgateway; receiving, from the wide area network via a broadband network,multimedia information simultaneously sent wirelessly directly from thewide area network to the associated at least one access device; sendingmultimedia information received via the broadband network to theassociated at least one access device via the one of: a personal areanetwork and a wireless local area network; receiving multimediainformation from the associated at least one access device via the oneof: a personal area network and a wireless local area network; andtransmitting the multimedia information received from the associated atleast one access device to the wide area network via the broadbandnetwork.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the at least oneaccess device comprises at least one of: a mobile multimedia handset, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a computerperipheral, a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones,and a pointing device.
 3. The method according to claim 1 wherein thewide area network comprises at least one of: a cellular digital packetdata (CDPD) network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), aGlobal System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, a General PacketRadio Service (GPRS) network, a short message service (SMS) network, aGSM enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE) network, a timedivision multiple access (TDMA) network, an integrated digital enhancednetwork (iDEN), a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and aCDMA2000 1×RTT network.
 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein thepersonal area network comprises at least one of: a Bluetooth network andan IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband network.
 5. The method according toclaim 1 wherein the wireless local area network comprises at least oneof: an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a,b, g, and n network.
 6. The method according to claim 1 wherein thebroadband network comprises at least one of: a cable network, a digitalsubscriber loop network, a T1 network, a T3 network, a local multipointdistribution system (LMDS), a WiMAX network, and an Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 network.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1 wherein the multimedia information comprisesat least one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data,text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, anddigitized music.
 8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:receiving, via the one of: a personal area network and a wireless localarea network, acceptance of the received multimedia information by theassociated at least one access device.
 9. The method according to claim1, further comprising: informing the wide area network via the broadbandnetwork, of acceptance of multimedia information by the associated atleast one access device via the one of: a personal area network and awireless local area network.
 10. A system supporting handoff of at leastone access device between a wide area network and one of: a personalarea network and a wireless local area network using simulcasting ofmultimedia information, the system comprising: a gateway communicativelycoupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface, thegateway capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information betweenthe at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, and ofcommunicating with the at least one access device via the at least onewireless interface; the gateway capable of associating the at least oneaccess device with the gateway; the gateway capable of receiving, fromthe wide area network via a broadband network, multimedia informationsimultaneously sent wirelessly directly from the wide area network tothe associated at least one access device; the gateway capable ofsending multimedia information received via the broadband network to theassociated at least one access device via the at least one wirelessinterface; the gateway capable of receiving multimedia information fromthe associated at least one access device via the at least one wirelessinterface; and the gateway capable of transmitting the multimediainformation received from the associated at least one access device tothe wide area network via the broadband network.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 10 wherein the multimedia information comprises atleast one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data,text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, anddigitized music.
 12. The system according to claim 10 wherein the widearea network comprises at least one of: a cellular digital packet data(CDPD) network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, a General Packet RadioService (GPRS) network, a short message service (SMS) network, a GSMenhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE) network, a time divisionmultiple access (TDMA) network, an integrated digital enhanced network(iDEN), a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and a CDMA20001×RTT network.
 13. The system according to claim 10 wherein the at leastone wireless interface comprises at least one of: a Bluetooth networkinterface and an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband network interface. 14.The system according to claim 10 wherein the at least one wirelessinterface is compliant with at least one of: an Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, b, g, and n network interfacestandard.
 15. The system according to claim 10 wherein the broadbandnetwork comprises at least one of: a cable network, a digital subscriberloop network, a T1 network, a T3 network, a local multipointdistribution system (LMDS), a WiMAX network, and an Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 network.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 10, further comprising: the gateway capable ofreceiving, via the at least one wireless interface, acceptance of thereceived multimedia information by the associated at least one accessdevice.
 17. The system according to claim 10, further comprising: thegateway capable of informing the wide area network, via the broadbandnetwork, of acceptance of multimedia information by the associated atleast one access device via the at least one wireless interface.
 18. Thesystem according to claim 10 wherein the at least one access devicecomprises at least one of: a mobile multimedia handset, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a computerperipheral, a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones,and a pointing device.
 19. A broadband access gateway apparatussupporting handoff using simulcasting of multimedia information, theapparatus comprising: at least one wireless interface supportingcommunication via at least one of: a personal area network and awireless local area network; at least one network interface forcommunication via a broadband network; at least one processor capable ofassociating at least one access device with the broadband access gatewayapparatus, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the atleast one wireless interface and the at least one network interface; theat least one processor capable of receiving, via the broadband network,multimedia information simultaneously communicated wirelessly to theassociated at least one access device via a wide area network; and theat least one processor capable of transmitting the received multimediainformation to the associated at least one access device via the atleast one wireless interface.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 19,further comprising: the at least one processor capable of detectingacceptance of the transmitted multimedia information.
 21. The apparatusaccording to claim 19, further comprising: the at least one processorcapable of communicating acceptance of the transmitted multimediainformation to the wide area network via the broadband network.
 22. Theapparatus according to claim 19 wherein the at least one wirelessinterface comprises at least one of: a Bluetooth network interface andan IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband network interface.
 23. The apparatusaccording to claim 19 wherein the at least one wireless interfacecomprises at least one of: an Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11a, b, g, and n network interface.
 24. Theapparatus according to claim 19 wherein the broadband network comprisesat least one of: a cable network, a digital subscriber loop network, aT1 network, a T3 network, a local multipoint distribution system (LMDS),a WiMAX network, and an Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.16 network.
 25. The apparatus according to claim 19wherein the at least one access device comprises at least one of: amobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), apersonal computer (PC), a computer peripheral, a digital scanner, adigital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device.
 26. Theapparatus according to claim 19 wherein the multimedia informationcomprises at least one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice,digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitizedvideo, and digitized music.
 27. The apparatus according to claim 19wherein the wide area network comprises at least one of: a cellulardigital packet data (CDPD) network, a public switched telephone network(PSTN), a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, aGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, a short message service(SMS) network, a GSM enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE)network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, an integrateddigital enhanced network (iDEN), a code division multiple access (CDMA)network, and a CDMA2000 1×RTT network.
 28. The apparatus according toclaim 19, further comprising: the at least one processor capable ofreceiving, via the at least one wireless interface, multimediainformation simultaneously transmitted by the associated at least oneaccess device via the wide area network.